In 2016 medical student Ashley Leong asked then Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull a question on Q&A about babies that survive an abortion procedure and are born alive. Ashley referred to the 27 babies that survived an abortion in Queensland in 2015, the highest number for a decade. The Prime Minister was clearly taken aback and described these as "shocking cases", while ultimately saying that the law around abortions is a matter for state governments. Read more

A great Australian tradition is seafood at Christmas time. We have some of the best fresh seafood in the world. A great tradition at the Parliament is the annual Nationals seafood BBQ. It was started by Senator Ron Boswell around 30 years ago to remind our Parliamentarians and media of how important our local seafood industry is. This week we restarted the tradition post-COVID. Read more

In case you missed it there was another one of those climate change summits last week. You know the ones that rich people fly to every year on private, charter jets to remind the rest of us to take the bus. Their hypocrisy was not all wasted though. The 45,000 people that attended eventually ticked off on a 10 page "implementation plan". The plan had 15 "notes" (two of them with serious concerns), 10 "recognises" and "welcomes", 8 "emphasises", 4 "encourages", 3 "urges" and just 2 "resolves". There were no decisions, commitments or anything that would approach a binding agreement. Read more

Over the past week the Ukraine government has desperately asked Australia for more coal. This follows devastating Russian attacks on Ukraine's electricity sector. There has been radio silence from the Albanese government in response. Given Labor's hostility to coal, I can just imagine what our government's response could have been, the best we can offer you is a Chinese made solar panel. Read more

The good thing about travelling through our great country is that you get to meet wonderful people. The bad thing is that you have to travel on our inadequate regional roads. Read more

When Roman legions marched into battle they were organised into three lines. The first two lines were young or inexperienced, and the third contained veterans that would support their fellow troops if needed. The third rank was known as the "subsidiarii", the Latin word for support. From this word comes the governing principle of subsidiarity, which means that locals should decide what happens in their communities, while still receiving support from higher levels of government. Read more

A few years ago the Rookwood Weir project got derailed when the cost of building turtle ladders blew out the project's costs. When we want to build a dam to grow food any frog, snail or turtle is an immediate roadblock to progress. A few weeks ago the Queensland Government announced that it would spend $12 billion to build a pumped hydro dam in the Pioneer Valley. The project will flood one of the few remaining habitats of the endangered Eungella Day Frog. Read more

Over the last few years things have been looking up for Central Queensland. Some of our nation's biggest infrastructure projects are happening here. Rookwood weir was the first major water infrastructure to be built for a generation. The Adani mine helped open the first coal basin in more than 50 years. The Shoalwater Bay training facility is going through a $1 billion upgrade. These projects have helped lower unemployment in Central Queensland and have been a boom for local businesses. Read more

For the first time I can remember, the federal budget was not about the government’s budget figures, it was about your family’s budget. The most shocking news from the Labor government’s first budget was that electricity prices are surging by 56 per cent over the next year. And, gas prices are due to rise by 40 per cent. Read more

A recent report by the Food and Agriculture Organisation found that the average kilogram of liveweight beef produced in Uruguay produces 33 kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent gases. The figures for Uruguay are relevant for Central Queensland because like them our cattle production system is largely grass fed. Read more